Artist: Svarte Greiner

B/B/S/ = Erik Skodvin (Deaf Center/Svarte Greiner) + Aidan Baker (Nadja) + Andrea Belfi. An album has been recorded and will be released in 2013 via Miasmah, in the meantime hear some live improv recordings here.

Svarte Greiner and Alexander Rishaug are heading out on tour together and have put together a special mini-album CDr for the occasion which can be previewed above. 100 copies only, featuring two solo tracks and two cooperative ones for a total of about 30 minutes.

Coming out at the end of the month via Miasmah, the self-titled debut 2xLP/CD from Juv aka Norwegian experimental/noise artists Are Mokkelbost and Marius von der Fehr, a collaboration finally seeing the light of day fourteen long years after it was initially conceived. Read more in this interview conducted by Erik Skodvin of Svarte Greiner: http://www.miasmah.com/recordings/juv/juv_interview.html

The problem with Svarte Greiner (aka Norway's Erik K. Skodvin) is that it fails to create an atmosphere of any real note in a genre that is brimming with bands and projects that take the listener into all sorts of ethereal worlds. Total escapism is the name of the game in ambient circles and, while "Penpals forever" does offer that to a degree, it's more of a visual image of what Skodvin has done to create the sounds he has, rather than the otherworldly experience that listening to the likes of dark ambient sounds provides. As a result, the potential gloominess that Skodvin could have created is, for the most part, lost and we're left with more of a lesson in sound invention. Maybe this is his intention and, in that case, he's done a sterling job. However, this type of 'music' has been done countless times before and has produced much more profound results in the past. Horses for courses though, and maybe this type of askew instrumentalism is right up a lot of streets for some. For me it's just very average.- John Norby

Svarte Greiner's 2008 CS release "Penpals forever (and ever)" will reissued on LP on May 31 via US label Digitalis Industries with a CD edition to follow on June 20, both of which will include three bonus tracks not on the original. Hear a sample ("B2") at myspace and watch for American tourdates to be confirmed soon: http://www.myspace.com/svartegreiner

Svarte Greiner, in addition to relocating to Berlin, will have his cassette release "Penpals forever" reissued on vinyl with an additional side of fresh music. Look for it in November via Digitalis under the name "Penpals forever and ever". In other news, a European tour is in the works for this fall and dates should be confirmed soon.